On the need for religion

Religions are poor things: they are at their roots, flawed; propounded by flawed institutions, held together by irredeemably damaged people. But, we are all irredeemably damaged; and we are lost. Religions, bad as they are, are all we have to help us remember. Remember what? I do not know: I have forgotten, too. But it seems to me that it is something like this:

• that we are all small pieces of flotsam, motes, brief sparks floated out upon currents of The Universe for a little time and space;
• that, obscurely, in ways and manners we cannot fathom, we matter and are loved; (to ask "To what?" and "By whom?" is to miss the point;)
• that we are constituents of this amazing enterprise we call "The Universe": our essence is of it;
• that every bit - every last, little, damned bit - of it is sacred;
• that though we think we die, the First Law of Thermodynamics applies.

St Beuno's

On Religion and Morality

Religion is not about morality. It is about having a view or vision of reality, which my be quite at odds with the common or habitual view (also called a trance state). Religious texts are more to inspire & shock a person out of their habitual view than to give moral imperatives. The new view of reality may well have moral implications, but these are secondary and flow from that new view. As the writer of Isaiah puts into the mouth of God, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.'' (Is 55.8)

Religious writing often seems backwards to me. Once-upon-a-time someone had a vision that changed their lives. This had profound affects upon the way they lived their life. All they could communicate was what flowed from the vision, not the vision itself. Moral and doctrinal teaching followed. We can only glimpse the original vision between the lines.

Spiritual practice (a.k.a. prayer/meditation/yoga/... ) is to put us in the right space to receive that vision. It is not the vision, nor is it a moral or doctrinal injunction. Do it because you can do no other, not because you want to be good. God is not primarily interested in us being good!